It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Angus Lennie.

Angus was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for playing the role of Storr in the Classic Series 2nd Doctor adventure; The Ice Warriors, Angus in the Classic Series 4th Doctor adventure; Terror Of The Zygons.

Angus' other career highlights include roles in; The Great Escape, Crossroads and Monarch Of The Glen.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Angus' family and friends.

[Source: Scottish Daily Record]

Fans of Doctor Who are set to find the TARDIS materialising at a new location this Easter as a selection of the Time Lord’s classic adventures in time and space start screening on Horror Channel.

The UK’s prime home for fans of horror, fantasy and sci-fi has completed a deal with BBC Worldwide to broadcast 30 stories from the Classic series which ran 1963 to 1989 featuring the first seven Doctors, starting with William Hartnell and concluding with Sylvester McCoy.

This specially curated season give fans old and new a chance to get re-acquainted with favourite companions Jamie, Jo Grant and Sarah Jane Smith, rogue Time Lords such as The Master, Omega and The Rani and all those iconic monsters including Daleks, Cybermen, Sea Devils and Ice Warriors.

Launching on Friday 18th April (Good Friday) the season begins with the very first story ‘An Unearthly Child’, starring William Hartnell as The Doctor. It then leads into a special WHO ON HORROR weekend - a classic marathon featuring one story from each of the Doctors across the Easter weekend.  There will then be weekday double-bills in daytime and evening slots with stories shown in chronological order starting on Easter Monday 21st April. 

Horror Channel is screening many of the stories that are regarded as the most memorable that the show produced including ‘The Mind Robber’, ‘The Daemons’, ‘Genesis of the Daleks’, ‘The Talons of Weng-Chiang’, ‘The Caves of Androzani’, ‘Attack of the Cybermen’ and ‘The Curse of Fenric’. Many emphasise the horror elements of the programme from the first scary moments the Daleks appeared, to encounters with giant spiders and maggots, and even battles with Mary Whitehouse over the violent content of the show during Tom Baker’s era. 

Alina Florea, Director of Programming, said today:

“There are many horror themes that Doctor Who has tackled over the years and people of all ages have been terrified and found cowering behind the sofa. Our selection from the classic series include the original appearances of some of the most revered monsters and TV moments which captured the imagination of children and adults throughout the decades.  Doctor Who is an iconic brand and we are proud and thrilled to welcome this giant of British television to our channel.”

The classic Doctor Who series complements the growing segment of cult television series available on the channel.  Wonder Woman, Xena: Warrior Princess, New Twilight Zone, Star Trek and The Invaders fill the daytime schedule, reflecting the expansion of the channel acquisitions into the fantasy, adventure, and science fiction genres. Doctor Who will have been the first taste of frightening television for many Horror Channel viewers, and following on from the show’s record-breaking 50th anniversary celebrations last year, they will now have the opportunity to relive those terrifying moments and exciting cliff-hangers again.

[Source: Horror Channel]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Aubrey Woods.

Aubrey was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for appearing in the Classic Series, 3rd Doctor adventure; Day Of The Daleks as The Controller.

Aubrey's other career highlights include; Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, The Old Curiosity Shop and Blakes 7.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Aubrey's family and friends.

[Source: Neil Marsh]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Designer of The Daleks, Ray Cusick.

Ray designed the iconic look of The Daleks - brainchild of creator, Terry Nation. The design of The Daleks has changed very little since the 1960's and at the time of designing, Cusick was on a standard BBC salary, so did not collect any royalties from his designs.

The Daleks have since gone on to earn huge revenues for Terry Nation's estate - a fact which many fans feel Cusick should have received more recognition (and royalties) for.

During his life, Cusick always stated he never asked for money, only to be recognised as a designer.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Raymond's family and friends.

[Source: BBC News]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actress, Elspet Gray.

Elspet was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for appearing in the Classic Series, 5th Doctor adventure; Arc Of Infinity as Thalia. She also appeared in the Big Finish Doctor Who audio adventure Immortal Beloved, in which she played Hera.

Elspet's other career highlights include; Catweazle, The Black Adder, Tenko and Dinnerladies.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Elspet's family and friends.

[Source: Neil Marsh]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Richard Briers.

Richard was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for appearing in the Classic Series, 7th Doctor adventure; Paradise Towers as Chief Caretaker. He also appeared in the Torchwood episode A Day In The Death as Parker.

Richard's other career highlights include; The Good Life, Ever Decreasing Circles, Down To Earth, Monarch Of The Glen, Love's Labour's Lost and Cockney's Versus Zombies.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Richard's family and friends.

[Source: BBC News]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Reg Pritchard.

Reg was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his roles in the following Classic Series adventures:

Ben Daheer in the 1st Doctor adventure; The Crusade.
Man In Mackintosh in the 1st Doctor adventure; The Dalek's Masterplan.

Reg, who was born in Wrexham; Wales, had a long career spanning as far back as 1961, and featured in such shows as Dixon Of Dock Green, The Avengers, The Saint and Z Cars.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Reg's family and friends.

* * *

On a personal note, there was a bit of story behind getting Reg's birth date. DWO deal with a number of Doctor Who related obituaries, and it is normally easy to find birth dates, but for some reason, there was no record online, or in any printed media of Reg's. We had this news item ready two days ago but kept drawing a blank when it came to finding Reg's year of birth. We contacted Equity, to no avail, and then contacted The Stage (on advice from Toby Hadoke), who informed us they would be in touch.

This afternoon we received a telephone call from a lovely lady named Audrey Leybourne - an actress, who has also had a long career. Audrey was friends with Reg, and did some detective work of her own and managed to find Reg's year of birth for us!

I guess the reason we are recounting this story is because we find it baffling and sad that a man who had such a long career, and who clearly had a lot of friends, should have so little said about him online - despite all the technology and resources we have available to us these days. And thank heavens for people like Audrey, who single-handedly trumped even the best that Google could offer!

[Sources: Neil Marsh; Audrey Leybourne; The Stage; Toby Hadoke]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Trevor Lawrence.

Trevor was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his role as Lodge in the 3rd Doctor adventure; Invasion Of The Dinosaurs.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Trevor's family and friends.

[Sources: Neil Marsh; Equity]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, David Webb.

David was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his role as Eric Leeson in the 3rd Doctor adventure; Colony In Space.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to David's family and friends.

[Sources: Neil Marsh; Equity]

AudioGO have sent DWO the cover and details for the January CD release of The Edge of Destruction, featuring William Hartnell as The First Doctor.

In a final bid to regain control of the TARDIS' faulty control system the Doctor is driven to experiment with a dangerous untried combination.

With a violent explosion the TARDIS blacks out and the crew find themselves trapped inside. A simple technical fault? Sabotage? Or something even more sinister?

Tension mounts as the Doctor and his companions begin to suspect one another. What has happened to the TARDIS? Slowly a terrifying suspicion dawns. Has the TARDIS become the prisoner of some powerful fifth intelligence which is even now haunting the time-machine's dark and gloomy corridors?

William Russell, who played the Doctor's companion Ian in the original TV serial, reads Nigel Robinson's complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1988.

 The Edge of Destruction is released on 6th January 2011, priced £12.99.

 Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com!

[Source: AudioGO]

The next series of Doctor Who will not feature any old monsters according to executive producer Piers Wenger.

The new series, the sixth since Doctor Who was revived in 2005, will instead feature new monsters. This means its unlikely that the Daleks, Cybermen or other enemies from the original series or indeed the more recent past will be back next year. When asked about the possibility of old monsters featuring in the next series Wenger said;

"No, we're bigger fans of new monsters. That's where we are. I think Steven's written the best new "Doctor Who" monsters in a long time in the [season] opening two-parter. That's where our energies are focused, really.."

The statement by Wenger could of course be a little white lie to keep fans in the dark over any planned returns.

 Read the full interview with Piers Wenger at Crave Online.

[Source: Crave Online]